Name:

Carpenter Ant (Camponotus)

Appearance: Easily distinguishable due to their size, carpenter ants are 1/4 to 1/2 inches long and are one of the largest ants in New Jersey. They are commonly black in color and often have large mandibles.

Habit: Given their name due to the damage they cause to homes and other structures, carpenter ants cut “galleries” in wood to create nests. They do not feed on wood like termites, but will use moist or decaying wood as nesting and breeding sights. Thriving both indoor and outdoor all year-round, they will often create nests outdoors while still traveling into homes to forage for food. The chewed up wood particles that they leave behind called “frass” are an indicator that carpenter ants may be damaging the wood in that area.

Diet: Carpenter ants prefer to feed on human food like sweets and meat products, but will also consume other insects.

Reproduction: Carpenter ant queens will commonly lay 20 to 30 eggs per year and can live up to twenty years, with workers living up to seven. Carpenter ants can make their homes in porches, windowsills, roofs, and almost any wood that is in contact with the soil. To effectively eliminate them, their nest must first be found. This can be done by watching their activity at night when they are most active and following them to where they are entering the home or structure. Controlling moisture problems and replacing damp wood is also recommended when treating or attempting to prevent carpenter ants.

Family:

Lyctinae

Appearance: Brown to reddish-brown in color, Powderpost beetles are usually 1/8 to 1/4 inches in length. Their presence is often determined by the 1/8 inch diameter exit holes that they leave behind. The exit holes are more commonly seen that the insect itself.

Habit: Powderpost beetles are often found in stored lumber, finished wood, furniture, and wooden rafters. They lay eggs on seasoned hardwoods and the young will burrow into the pores of the wood. They feed on the wood itself until they are fully grown and then exit the wood by burrowing back out. They eat only untreated wood, making antiques and old furniture especially desirable. They will often emerge from finished wood products, to the surprise of homeowners who have recently done home renovations or installed new wooden doors or hardwood furnishings.

Diet: Hard-woods/Sap-woods

Reproduction: Eggs are usually deposited in the spring time on seasoned lumber. The larvae look like small, white grubs and produce a powdery saw dust as they feed on the wood. They stay in the selected piece of wood through out the winter and emerge the next spring, leaving their distinct exit holes. A large infestation of these pests can cause irreversible damage to wood furnishings.

Name: Carpenter Bee

Appearance: Similar in appearance to bumblebees, the carpenter bee is distinguishable by its shiny black, hairless abdomen. They are often seen hovering around roof eaves and drilling into wooden porches outside homes.

Habit: Male Carpenter Bees are unable to sting, and females rarely do unless provoked or handled. Despite their name, Carpenter bees do not actually feed on wood. The tunnels that they make are used as shelter and as a harborage for their young. They commonly make ½ inch diameter holes in unpainted wood objects like windowsills, doors, roof eaves, porches and wood railings, shingles, and wood furniture. Over time, nesting sites can cause considerable structural damage that may result in costly repairs. They will often leave droppings on walls or other areas near their nesting site which can cause staining.

Diet: Pollenating bee species.

Reproduction: Carpenter bees will hibernate during the winter, emerging in the spring to mate and create new nesting sites. New hatchlings generally emerge in early August.